Great Lakes Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in BancFirst Corporation $BANF

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lowered its position in BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF) by 45.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,818 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,844 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of BancFirst worth $2,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in BancFirst in the 2nd quarter worth about $653,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of BancFirst in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,326,000. Callan Family Office LLC grew its position in BancFirst by 842.2% in the 2nd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 25,750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,183,000 after acquiring an additional 23,017 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of BancFirst by 648.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 164,160 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,294,000 after acquiring an additional 142,232 shares during the period. Finally, Triton Financial Group Inc acquired a new stake in BancFirst in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,791,000. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of BancFirst in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut BancFirst from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on BancFirst from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BancFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.50.

BancFirst Stock Performance

Shares of BancFirst stock opened at $109.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. BancFirst Corporation has a 1 year low of $97.02 and a 1 year high of $138.77.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $181.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.76 million. BancFirst had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 25.13%. Equities analysts forecast that BancFirst Corporation will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.53%.

About BancFirst

BancFirst Corporation is a regional banking holding company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As the largest state‐chartered bank in Oklahoma, BancFirst offers a comprehensive suite of financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities. Its core business activities include commercial and consumer banking, mortgage lending, treasury management, equipment financing and electronic banking solutions.

The bank operates a network of more than 60 branches across Oklahoma, serving urban centers such as Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as rural communities throughout the state.